Apathy
by BeregornII
Summary: A young soldier in a foreign war meets another soldier with a mysterious past.
1. Prologue: Paper Clippings

STANLEY (Reuters) – British Parliament finally issued a declaration of war on Argentina today, reopening the decades old conflict over control of the Falklands Islands. Great Britain had already stationed several army units in the region, including elements of the Rifles Regiment and the Light Dragoons. British Intelligence had indicated a large Argentine sea-borne force forming of the South Coast of Argentina as early as Tuesday. Further reconnaissance confirmed this, and diplomatic talks were broken off late Wednesday night. The United States has surprised many observers by staying out of the conflict. The UN Secretary General, Karl Salo, urged both sides to talk and reach a peaceful conclusion, while peacekeepers were put in place, but the Security Council seemed apathetic to any attempt at peacekeeping. Prime Minister White has not yet spoken in public since Parliament issued the declaration. The mood was optimistic in London, where demonstrations against Argentine territorial ambitions had been staged for several days.

" We've whipped them before, and we'll do it again", said one Eric Goudge.

In Stanley, civilians received the news stoically, and most people on the islands' capital seemed grim. In the first Falklands war, in 1982, 3 civilians were killed in the initial Argentine attack, before a British taskforce repulsed the invaders. Air attacks are expected soon, but British forces are prepared. Observers predict that the Argentines will focus on getting infantry on the ground as soon as possible, as they are overmatched in the air and on the sea. The Argentine Government has been condemned especially vigorously for it's unceasing territorial ambitions. Argentine president, Diego Viola, has been elusive, and seems bent on making his nation more and more isolationist. Argentina only just concluded a truce with Chile after a bloody, 9 month conflict that saw over one million dead between both sides. (CONT A3 WAR).

**Editorials **

**Why War?** In the past six years we have seen an unprecedented increase in armed global conflict. After Iran's incursions into Iraq, the Chilean-Argentine war, widespread fighting and rebelling in South East Asia, an even stronger Chechen rebel movement, rampant civil war in parts of Africa, the reopening of hostilities in Bosnia, and an attempt by Haiti to conquer the Dominican Republic. All of this against the constant back drops of fighting in the Middle East. The so-called "Super Powers" can no longer keep world order. The UN is stretched well past the breaking point. But why are theses wars even happening? It may be sheer paranoia, but it seems as if something is driving humanity into a self-destructive cycle with one inevitable conclusion. We need to act now, and to stop the source of the conflicts, whether economical, political, tribal, or worse!

Steven Potvin

Windsor Ont.


	2. 1: East Bound

Lyra emerged from her cabin in the afternoon, Pan beside her. The crew ignored her so strongly it couldn't be plainer that they were watching her as hard as they could while still doing their allotted tasks. This was hardly surprising. A beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties, traveling alone, on a cargo ship to boot. Captain Vos had let her onboard, though, and even if she was almost always in her cabin, it did nothing to quell the rumours of witchcraft surrounding her and her strange daemon. 

Captain Vos was on striding about the deck, yelling orders to his crew, his Tern Daemon on his shoulder.

"Vandermeer, tie that line boy, or I'll have your head! Jans, if you don't stop gawking at gulls I'll have you scrubbing the engine room floor until we hit Halifax! Rombaut, I've already docked you a weeks pay, and I'll do it again if the galley isn't spotless by dinner!" The deck was a hive of activity, with minor repairs and cleaning being done all over the place. Three days of bad weather had put the Captain into a foul humour. He spotted Lyra, did a double take, and looked for a crewmember to yell at.

Lyra just laughed to herself, and approached Captain Vos. She simply stood behind him until he had no choice but to turn and act surprised at her presence.

"Captain, now that we are through this weather, how long until we get to Halifax? I appreciate the speed of _The Golden Star_, but considering the amount of money that I paid…"

Captain Vos grunted.

"Missy, trust me, this ship is going as fast as I can get it. You are not the only one who has money in this little journey. But a storm in early June like that? You cannot blame me for that!"

"Captain Vos, I would just like to know how many days until we get to Halifax. I don't want to hear excuses", she finished a little more sharply then she wanted.

"No need to get angry, Ms. Hawking, I would expect _The Golden Star_ to reach Halifax in two days." Captain Vos put on as hurt an air he could muster. His daemon let out a thin wail.

"Thank you Captain. Thank your crew for their diligence and skill in getting us through the storm for me." Lyra turned and walked back to her cabin, with Captain Vos glaring daggers at her.

The Cabin was small, but neat. The dark steel walls were cold, but Lyra didn't care.

"You shouldn't needle him like that, Lyra. He still might talk to those strange magesterium officials. We got lucky in getting a ship out of Liverpool that fast", Pan growled. He stretched out on the small bed while Lyra hung up her coat.

Lyra sighed.

"You're probably right Pan. You have been right a lot as of late." Lyra sat down on the bed. "We need to find a place to stay in Halifax in a hurry. And you know that the church has a long arm even there." The _Intendents Acadie _were famous for their brutality and recklessness.

Lyra laid back. She couldn't help but reflect on her life after she left school. She had adjusted well, and had graduated with headmistress's honours. She was fluent in French, German, and Italian and was learning a form of Skraeling, called Iroquois. She was proficient in maths and sciences, and had no trouble keeping track of some of the more complex scholarly conversations that were had. And slowly, oh so slowly, her abilities with the alethiometer were steadily coming back to her. She still needed the books, and it took her a long time to answer even basic questions, but she was relearning.

After she left the school, things began to accelerate. Lyra had done her best to spearhead a more open and free society. Her charisma had allowed her to become the head of the Britons student union, quite an accomplishment in a still predominantly male academic world. But while she rallied the young academics around her, the magesterium had taken notice. As the magesterium grew more powerful, more obstacles had sprung up. Police were preventing rallies and demonstrations; political lobbies were falling on deaf ears. Things were changing.

Two major events had been the source of much consternation to the liberal intellectuals that had thrived after the magesterium had lost its power. The first, and most impacting of the changes was that the magesterium had regained a lot of power in a short period of time. The college of St. Fernando had emerged at the top of a pile of squabbling church factions. St. Fernando was the Patron Saint of inquisitors, and the college named after him followed his example admirably. The head of St. Fernando's, was a monk, who simply took the name Petr, had immediately set about eliminating the remaining pockets of opposition, and putting the fear of God (or more specifically the church) into the hearts of sinners everywhere. He did this through a full-scale vicious inquisition amid rumours of torture.

The second was less direct, but had potentially more dangerous consequences. In far away Nippon, another dictator had consolidated his power. What had started out as a web of alliances had turned into a campaign of conquest that put Manchuria, Kamchatka and Corea under the control of King Honmoto. But Honmoto was also modernizing the Far East, and turning it into an industrial powerhouse. What was once a military force largely made up of older guns, crossbows and steel arms now were armed with the most advanced weapons in the world. The Christian nations of the west were appalled by these heathens, and even now were forming an expeditionary force. And new weapons had to be developed to combat Honmotos well armed army. The whole of Europe was turning into an armed camp, and more and more radical ideas were being put forth for war. The world was quickly becoming a boiling pot, liable to bubble over at any moment. But she had held on, trying to build that republic of heaven. She had still believed she had a chance, until a week ago.

A week ago everything had gone to hell. She had been off on a day trip with Adam. Adam was another high-ranking member of the Union, who was in love with Lyra. This was awkward for Lyra at first. She still wasn't actually over Will. She wouldn't admit it to herself most times. But Adam was different. That day, it seemed like she had never been hurt, like she was going to be okay. Adam was the perfect gentleman, without being over the top or treating Lyra like a child. She was genuinely enjoying herself. They returned to the Union office in Oxford to find it ransacked, with no sign of any of the other staff. They agreed to split up. She had left for Portsmouth immediately. She knew that boats were slower, which they wouldn't expect. They were also easier to find, less expensive, and much less conspicuous, which was exactly what she needed. She had seen no sign of anyone following her, but that was probably only because she hadn't returned home. The alethiometer was always on her, and she had what money she would need on her.

She had no illusions what would happen to her is the churches agents caught her. She decided that the New World was as good a place as any. Why Halifax, she didn't know. She was more likely to blend in in that lone bastion of Britannia then in New France, or the German colonies, or the Swedish part of the continent they called Kanata. The odd thing was she seemed to be trying to convince herself that she had made the decision herself, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had no idea of why she was going to Halifax, or what to do when she got there. She decided to stop thinking about it.

"Pan, dear. What have we gotten ourselves into this time?"


End file.
